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Hardest hit have been the Highway area comprising Westville, Pinetown, Hillcrest, Kloof, Gillitts, Forest Hill, New Germany and Waterfall.

In several instances children had been held at gunpoint and teenage girls threatened with rape, according to private investigator, Brad Nathanson.

Dubbed the “Isuzu gang” because they are known to travel in a white Isuzu bakkie, the robbers also been operating with an older model Mercedes-Benz (W126) apparently stolen from Lillian Ngoyi (Windermere) Road last week.

“These thugs are part of a much bigger syndicate. They are very clear about what they want: electronic equipment, cash and jewellery,” he said.

“To ensure that the victims give them valuables, they resort to assaulting the adults and threatening their children. In all the incidents, the victims were bound with cable ties.”

KZN police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker, said police were looking at ways of deploying more resources in the area to combat the problem.

According to Darryn le Grange, managing director of Blue Security, there had been a dramatic increase in both contact (hijackings and house robberies) and non-contact crimes (theft) for March in these areas.

“The average over the past 10 months was 25 contact crimes a month,” he said. “This spiked to 36 in March. Non-contact crimes increased from an average of 267 to 357 over the same period.”

Le Grange said in most instances the robbers arrived at the targeted house in a vehicle.

“They derail the driveway gate, hold up the residents at gunpoint for about an hour or more and terrorise them into complying with their demands before fleeing with valuables, often in the victim’s vehicle.”

In a recent incident, a Gillitts couple and their daughter were terrorised by five armed robbers, who gained entry to the house through an open sliding door.

He said the three were made to lie on the floor while the suspects demanded valuables. “They were in the house for about an hour.

“They made off with a plasma TV set, jewellery, cash, foreign currency, cellphones, bank cards and identity documents.” Le Grange said the robbers bundled the stolen goods in a sheet and loaded them into the victim’s double-cab bakkie.

Nathanson said a blind Kloof father and his 17-year-old daughter were receiving counselling after an hour-long ordeal at the weekend.

He said the father was repeatedly assaulted with the butt of a gun while the daughter was made to strip naked.

“They repeatedly threatened to rape her if he did not co-operate with them. They dragged her across the house shouting and screaming,” he said. “They were merciless.”

He said the father alerted him to the robbery.

“When I got to the scene, it was a pathetic sight. The two of them were in really bad shape. It seemed like the robbers hit the wrong house,” Nathanson said. “The dad said he could hear them talking on the cellphone in English and Zulu. It seemed like they were taking orders from someone.

“He said they kept demanding a plasma television and Krugerrand coins.”

On Saturday, several adults and two children suffered a similar fate, Nathanson said.

He said they, too, were terrorised for over an hour while the robbers ransacked their house. A two-year-old had a gun at his head during the robbery.

Nathanson described the raiders as “fearless and ugly”.

“Nothing deters them. No electric fences, security gates, armed response of vicious dogs. They are a hard-hitting gang who will resort to killing if they have to.”

He said it was difficult to pin the gang down: “They are on top of everything. They even listen in on the police radio frequency... But, they will slip up and the cops will be there.”

Nathanson blamed the spike in house robberies on the disbanding of the SAPS’s organised crime unit at Cato Manor.

“They were tasked to investigate these cases and their network of informers resulted in many robberies being foiled.

“Since the unit was disbanded, the stats speak for themselves. A specialised unit needs to take charge before it gets any worse. People are living in fear in their own homes.”

Westville Community Police Forum (CPF) chairman, Kevin Harvey, said they were concerned about the increase.

“There appears to be two gangs operating in Westville. One is a well-organised gang that carefully plans the hit while the other appears to be more opportunistic. They drive around and strike when families are having functions or if they see an open door.”

He said while no one had been seriously injured during any of the robberies, there had been death threats.

“These gangs are merciless. We are appealing to residents not to resist.

“They will not hesitate to kill. Life is far more valuable than any possession.

“Let them take what they want and leave!”

MaryLou Giliam, secretary of the Kloof CPF, said a gang of about five was operating in the area and terrorising residents.

They were known to hit in the early evenings and followed the same modus operandi.

She confirmed several women had been threatened with rape during the robberies and that the robbers had pistol-whipped some victims.

If you see either of the vehicles mentioned in this article, report it to the SAPS immediately. If you notice any suspicious vehicles or people hanging around your street then phone your alarm company and/or the Police to come and investigate immediately! Rather safe than sorry!

and its sunday morning have they been arrested yet...millions of emails...article in the newspaper? maybe its time to start a bounty hunting service

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE....blah blah blah...reward R100 000...i wonder how quickly they would be caught....

while reading this email i was watching my wife and daughter building puzzles in the lounge...i would be prepared to pay towards a fund to protect them or should i say to reduce the risk of something happening to them...i do realise we could never stop it completely but at least if i knew when i read and article like this that there were people out there doing something about it ...because i believe prevention is better than cure...i have first hand experience with a close friend who has had to endure this type of behavior...his wife and daughter where robbed and what ever else happened at gun point at 7 am in the morning...i have seen how it has destroyed his family and his life...even with all the councilling...his wife has divorced from him and taken his daughter to live in a safer country...some will say the crime is all over the world...i would agree but when the crime in this country is compared to war torn countries...you have to ask yourself...shouldnt we be at war with the criminals...the crimminal comes to your house with an ak47 shouldnt you also have at least an ak 47 to protect yourself...instead of telling each other to just throw your hands in the air and just give them what they want.

i would be prepared to go to war with these crimminals...if we could all stick together and declared war on crime and take appropriate action...you need to make the crimminal scared...and the only way we can do that is to hunt them down and take appropriate action...putting them in jail just gives them an opitunity to learn new tricks...i know it sounds a little harsh...but the reality of the situation in this country is until you can create enough employment for all the people...its only gona get worse.

the reality of this situation is it not a balck or white thing anymore...now its a call for all "south africans" to stand up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

a silly little thing like the etoll system got everyone worked up enough take action...over a few rand....yet a story like this doesnt even get a reaction...and we are taking about affecting people for the rest of their lives....not just a few rand or cents

i want men and women on this forum to stand back and just watch your partner and children doing what ever they are doing for a short while...and tell me you could live with yourself for not taking action if your wife or daughter is raped or stripped naked and dragged arount the house while you are cable tied and forced to watch....or your wifes vehicle is hijacked and the trauma will endure if the child is taken with the vehicle...read the stats it is just a matter of time and you are goan have your turn...unless you do something about it.

With ongoing crime, such as Murdock, has elaborated on, I think every South African has the right to ask a simple question: Do we need Mdluli and Bheki Cele? How intergral are these indivuduals when it comes down to the very primary purpose for the jobs: Preventing crime, enforcing the law and protecting South Africans. Mdluli said in the Sunday Times today that his job is to ensure that South Africans are safe and he's now focusing on that. The facts tell a different story! Even criminals have no respect or rather fear for the police!

when they are requesting private security companies to protect police station and have an ad running on sabc...please dont kill policemen or say no to police killings or what ever it actually says just makes me realise who far down the crapper we actually are...if the police cant even protect them selves...how they gona look after the people of this country...wake up and smell the roses before you become another statistic or your family is tortured and put through a horrific ordeal that you as the protector in the family find yourself begging for your own life never mind your families.